TV REVIEW: The Strain “Loved Ones”

By Clinton Bell

The Strain is not a show I would characterize as emotional. Nothing, not even Jim’s surprising death, has made me feel much. Yet somehow, “Loved Ones” managed to strike a chord. The episode picks up where we left off, with Eph still on the search for Kelly. I have never liked Kelly as a character; so far, she’s been pretty annoying and not worth caring about. But this time, the show examines her character through a different lens, by showing us flashbacks from Kelly’s POV.

When Kelly realizes that the virus that Eph was babbling about is the real deal, she returns home and is infected by a vampire-worm-thing, in a really icky scene that appears to have been the inspiration for The Strain’s controversial marketing campaign. Kelly gets infected early on in the episode, and it doesn’t stop there; we see Kelly go on her own search for Zach—mirroring Eph’s search for her—and in the process she attacks her friend Diane and her son.

But again, I’ve never liked Kelly, so why did this episode affect me emotionally? Because of Zach. A mother losing her son, and a son losing his mother is a universal theme that I am able to latch on to despite the characters not being great or likable. The theme alone has resonance, so it doesn’t matter much if the characters are weak. Would it have been more effective if the characters were stronger? Probably, but the episode still succeeds as much as it can, given its short history.

Eph’s search for Kelly also rings an emotional bell. Though Kelly is no longer the love of his life, Eph must find her, not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because she is the mother of his child. By this point, Eph probably realizes that Kelly is a better parent than he could ever be. Near the end of the episode, Eph comes across Diane and her son, who he then kills. But in Diane’s hand is one of the few clues to what happened to Kelly: her necklace, which Eph immediately recognizes. Eph breaks down in tears, knowing that Kelly is either dead or now a vampire. How can Eph explain this to his son?

Eph makes a tough choice and chooses not to tell Zach about the necklace. “I’m not giving up,” Eph tells him. Eph might not think there’s hope for Kelly, but he doesn’t want Zach to give up hope. Zach is Eph’s hope.

The rest of the episode doesn’t work as well. There is a B story where Vasiliy and Dutch go after Palmer at the Stoneheart Group, but it doesn’t amount to much, and even uses a bit of a deus ex machina to get Dutch and Vasiliy out of jam. The only important new information we get out of the sequence is the knowledge that Palmer’s henchmen actually don’t like him and are plotting against him. Other than that, there’s nothing memorable or significant about these scenes.

But the episode is mostly successful, despite the not-so-good Stoneheart Group scenes. The final scene, with Zach watching a video his mom shot on her phone, is one of the best endings the show has had so far, and it avoids coming off as schmaltzy.

“Loved Ones” is a good episode. It proves that the show is capable of having heartbeat, even if its main goals involve blood, gore, and mayhem.

Additional notes:

No, this episode didn’t have much forward momentum or action, but that’s all right. Yeah, I have been complaining about the lack of momentum, but I’m okay with the show slowing down if it has a good reason to do it.

I don’t know what to make of Dutch. She straddles the line between kinda annoying and kinda amusing.

The episode was written by the great Gennifer Hutchinson, known for her work on Breaking Bad, including the excellent episode “Confessions” from the final season.